In the midst of all the chaos I managed to catch the one and only Miss Bonnie Bishop’s one woman show at Dosey Doe up in The Woodlands. I’ve seen her before in Conroe by herself, with a band and as an opener for Paul Thorn. She’ll readily admit to anyone that Thorn is one of her absolute very bestest favorites.

Bonnie’s spark and enthusiasm is monumentally infectious and she is one woman whose love for her art transcends the usual hum drum of life on the road with the endless hours of little white lines, lost directions and missing cell phones. Oh…and don’t ask about the dog…

She came ready to play tonight and why not? DD recently got a nice new baby grand piano which she managed to convince several of the gentlemen wait staff to lift onto the stage. Turns out this is the very first time Bonnie has been able to include a piano in any of her shows, so this was a real treat for all of us. For Bonnie, it was a natural.

This evening the songs came from a cross-section of her 4 previous records, with the newest single Bad Seed coming in 3rd on the set list. Determined grit and a seasoned soul-dipped voice kept the 150 or so of us in the audiences’ attention for the hour and a half plus long set. She seemed totally in her element and almost at times seemed to forget we were even there, especially at the piano. Such is the depth of the music she feels.

Long about halfway through the evening she sorta lights up and the usual smile gets a little bigger as she announces that she has a song on the most recent Bonnie Raitt CD (Slipstream, released Apr. 10) called “Not ‘Cause I Wanted To”. Raitt had first heard the song over 3 years ago and promised to use it at some point. Imagine having one of your musical heroes record one of your songs?? A hearty round of applause was given by all because we all know that Bonnie has paid the dues and deserves the break. (I just wanna know..when’s lunch??)

Currently residing in Nashville, her heart belongs to Texas and if you check her schedule out at www.bonniebishop.com you’ll see there is ample opportunity to see Bishop perform this summer just about anywhere you are in Texas with several dates coming right here in Houston. I totally encourage you to see her and get to know her music and her story.

Another great Dosey Doe show…Nice piano!

Calling All Angels
Goin Back to Texas
Bad Seed
World Like This
Lucky Ones
Keep Using Me
Almost Like Home
If I Needed You
Not ‘Cause I Wanted To (on the Raitt CD)
Things I Know
Virginia
Brent Rollins (retitled later to Trent Ballings cuz Brent turned out to be a jerk…let THAT be a lesson guys!)